


I thought that I was dreaming when you said you loved me

by Here4LarryFics



Series: Uni AU [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A good amount of fluff, Alternate Universe - College/University, And I'm not even ashamed, Getting Together, M/M, More than half of Harry's inner monologue is Louis praise, a lil angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 11:03:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12769668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Here4LarryFics/pseuds/Here4LarryFics
Summary: "Harry was capable of a lot of things but that by no means meant that he was capable of dealing with a flirty Louis Tomlinson talking directly to him. But if there was one thing Harry was exceptionally good at, it was flirting. He could do this."Harry is 20, studying criminal justice and trying to get Louis Tomlinson to fall in love with him.





	I thought that I was dreaming when you said you loved me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey again. I finally got around to finishing this prequel. I don't know if I can truthfully call this a prequel since its 11k and the sequel is barely 1k. But I hope yall enjoy because I actually liked writing this, mostly because there's a lot of Louis praise and I'm all about Louis praise.

           

Harry decides that he’s not going to get anything done if he continues to sit in his flat in his pants and stare at his laptop like the words will magically appear for his criminal justice paper. And like, why does he even have a paper due in criminal justice? Harry thinks he’s watched enough Law and Order to know that paper-writing skills aren’t a necessity. So he throws on the least offensive smelling thing he find on his floor which turns out to be a plain white t-shirt and his standard black jeans. He doesn’t really feel like living up his “art-hoe” aesthetic that he’s established since he’s been here. He just needs to get out of the house and get this paper done and out of his life.

 

He decides to go to the on-campus starbucks because he wants to focus but he doesn’t want too be _too_ focused and there’s always some type of shenanigans going on at the starbucks on campus. Sometimes they have an open mic night, other nights they have karaoke which Harry has made the mistake of participating in…twice. And Harry knows _fool me twice shame on me_ but he wanted to give it another try after his disaster round of drunken karaoke with Niall. So he thought he’d give it a second try to give a real (sober) chance and well. It was better when he was drunk to be honest.

 

As he walks into the coffee shop he already feels a little better, a little more hopeful. He’s surrounded by people with various levels of stress, ranging from on the brink of insanity to cooler than a cucumber. For as much time - and money- that he’s invested into his aesthetic he’s really quite basic sometimes. Sometimes a guy just wants to enjoy a caramel frappuccino in peace while he pretends to look productive. As he waits for his drink to be called out he surveys the rest of the shop. He sends a thank you prayer to every deity he knows when he catches sight of fluffy brown hair nearly hidden by a beanie belonging to a boy who makes frequent visits in his dreams. He sees Louis tucked away in a corner with books spread like a literary halo around him.

 

Once his name has been called he gives him self a small pep talk before he starts meandering over to Louis’ table. In the short 5 second journey Harry starts overthinking; _‘What if he doesn’t remember who I am’_ and ‘ _Will he think I’m trying to pick him up…ok well maybe I am’_. Thankfully he catches Louis’ eye just before he’d reached the table, “Harry! Hey! What’s up, what brings you here?”

 

“Hey! Um you know, just trying to find a good place to study for midterms” he said hoping he was sound much more composed than he felt inside. Louis face softened as if he could see through Harry’s carefully constructed façade “Yea mate, same here. It’s _impossible_ to get work done in my flat, my couch in like magnet and after you’ve sat on it the next thing you know you’ve watched half a series on Netflix.” Harry managed to quickly get his thoughts back on track or he’d get lost in imagining himself joining Louis on his couch for a day of Netflix,

 

“Well kudos to you on escaping it’s evil magnetic powers” he answered with a smile he knew made his dimples pop out oh-so-innocently. He could hear melodic chuckles escaping Louis’ mouth as he took a small bow, “Thank you for recognizing my strength” it was only when Louis came back up from his bow that he realized Harry was still hovering next to his table instead of sitting down, “Harry love, are you gonna sit down anytime soon or did you wanna keep shuffling next to me” he made a point to stare at Harry’s still shuffling feet to illustrate his point.

“Um yea, yea I’d love to. If that’s ok with you? I mean I don’t wanna mess up your study environment” he left the question was left open even though Louis had pretty much already confirmed that he wanted him to stay but he just wanted to be sure. Louis’ face softened again followed by his honey soft voice “Of course you’re welcome to sit down Harry. I don’t mind, I promise” Harry made quick work of setting his cup down on the table and making himself comfortable across from his boy (ok maybe he wasn’t his _yet_ but a boy could dream). “Have you been here long? What are you working on?” he asked “I’ve been here since,” he quickly unlocked his phone to check the time. Even though his screen was only on for a flash Harry did manage to catch a glimpse of what looked like 4 boys, Louis being in the middle looking awfully cozy with a godly looking man before he locked it again before he continued “half one, so it’s been almost 2 hours. That means I’m due a break right?” he finished with his signature flirty smile.

Harry was capable of a lot of things but that by no means meant that he was capable of dealing with a flirty Louis Tomlinson talking directly to him. But if there was one thing Harry was exceptionally good at, it was flirting. He could do this.

“Honestly? I’m not even sure how you’ve made it this far. You poor dear, how _did_ you survive?” he decided to really commit to it and put on his most convincing (well _he_ thought it was his most convincing pout face but Niall always laughed in his face when he used it. But it’s still unconfirmed if Niall is 100% human so his opinions don’t count) pout face. Some deity must have heard his thank you prayer from earlier and decided to bless him the sight of a Louis Tomlinson blush. Harry didn’t know what he did to deserve this, but he was thankful.

Louis, never one to be outdone, dramatically threw his hand over his eyes and let out a fake sob, “Oh Harold you don’t know the _half_ of it!” They weren’t exactly making a scene because it took quite a bit of effort to get the attention of the sleep deprived students that usually lingered here but they were a bit loud of coffee shop standards. However, Harry was in the middle of what he considered to be his first attempt at wooing Louis so he couldn’t care less about the other patrons. “Well, I’ve got a fresh cuppa so how about you tell me all about it” Harry finished with a flirty smile of his own.

This lead to a discussion that stretched for nearly 30 minutes where Harry learned that Louis was a 3rd year English major and he loved it. Most of his classes were English classes, theater classes or historical classes to help him understand the societies influence on the writings in that era. He also found out that Louis was there working on his mid-term paper for his African-American lit class. Harry found it interesting that Louis chose to taken African-American lit instead of studying African literature and it’s effects on British culture so he decided to ask more about it, “So, what made you decide to take African-American lit? It’s not a requirement is it?” he questioned curiously.

Something in Louis’ face made it clear that he’d been asked this question multiple times and judging by how quickly he responded with what sounded like a rehearsed answer “Well as somewhat of an American history nerd I’ve always been interested in the African and African-American impact and influence on American culture. I find it rather strange that we don’t learn more about African history since African history is kinda everybody’s history since we all came from there right?” he paused for a second, seeming to analyze Harry’s face for a moment before continuing “Obviously I’m not African or American for that matter but that doesn’t mean I can’t be interested in them right? I just, I’m fascinated by American culture because it’s so…big. Like, it has such a big impact on a lot of what the world thinks about people, places and things. So it was really a no brainer when I saw that this class was offered.”

Through all of this Harry sat with poorly concealed stars in his eyes and really did his best to absorb everything coming out of Louis’ mouth because he was genuinely interested in what he was telling him, but it’s _really_ hard to not get a little lost in Louis while he’s talking so passionately about something that he obviously cares about. Obviously Louis is distractingly attractive, nobody is surprised by that because anyone with eyes can appreciate his face, but to hear him speak so passionately about something a lot of his peers wouldn’t think twice about or aren’t nearly as educated about it as Louis is really says something about him. This boy not only is very observant of the world around him to be able to notice one countries global impact but he’s also _inquisitive_ to the point that he wants to how and why it came to be that way. Harry won’t go so far as to say that he’s in love but... He’s in love.

The air around them was frizzling with all the energy (and lack there of) from those around them but Harry could feel nothing but warmth for the boy in front of him. They’d managed to stop talking long enough to get some work done. They agreed to work diligently for 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute break to get any refills they needed or to just chat for a bit. While Harry did spend the majority of his time working on his paper that didn’t mean he didn’t waste a few minutes just observing his companion while he worked. Harry observed took note of a few things, the first and most obvious thing being that Louis was overall a very fidgety person. He would alternate from bouncing his leg to tapping his fingers to nibbling on his lip. Harry had also heard Louis quietly humming to himself as he typed, it didn’t sound like a sound in particular but more like a melody that seemed to lodge its way into Louis’ head. Harry was ~~in love~~ endeared. It was at this point that Harry realized that too deep into his “I LOVE LOUIS” headspace.

They continued their 45-15 routine for the first two hours. He’d put a sizeable dent in his paper and was actually starting to feel confident about it until some man wandered over to their table and interrupted their nice, serine study environment. “Lou, is that you!” upon looking up Harry noticed 3 things. One; this man was tall, taller than Harry but it’s not like they’re competing or anything, with smooth pale skin and a golden-kinda-honey-brown quiff. Two; this man looked a little bit older than them, maybe 24 or 25. And lastly and most importantly, Harry could spot this man’s obvious heart eyes from across this room. All of these observations added up to Harry being not only anxious but feeling the need to sit up straighter in his chair to appear a bit taller, but again this wasn’t a competition right? Because Harry certainly was not competing for the affection of the boy a enigma of a boy sat across from him, that’s a preposterous idea.

“Aiden? Yea it’s me, how’ve you been lad? Did you end up finding a master’s program here?” Louis was either used to _Aiden’s_ heart eyes or he didn’t notice; however Harry wasn’t optimistic enough to entertain the latter. He would wager his entire vinyl collection on the chance that Louis is more than familiar with heart eyes being directed his way.

“Yea I actually just started, was lucky enough to snag one of the last places in the course, crazy right?” Suddenly Harry was the one feeling unlucky. Like maybe his luck with this beautiful boy was coming to an end, all because of his _Aiden_ bloke. Needless to say Harry was not pleased when the two began catching up right in front of him. He knows that he and Louis aren’t exactly on a date and they’re in a public place so like, it’s not unheard of to run into an old…“friend” in a coffee shop but still.

Thankfully Louis seemed to notice Harry’s furrowed brow as he looked between the two and decided to properly introduce to them “Oops where are my manners. Harry this is Aiden, Aiden this is Harry. Aiden and I had a few classes together before he graduated and went out into the adult world” Harry at least had the decency to paste on his most charming smile while shaking Aiden’s hand. He would have missed the quick once over Aiden gave him had he not been staring through him since he interrupted them, he seemed to be almost assessing if he was _worthy_ of Louis and surprisingly Harry understood that. Mainly because he did the same thing when he saw Aiden approaching their table but that’s neither here nor there.

Once Harry tuned back into the conversation he was even more displeased to hear that an actual hangout was being arranged right in front of his face! Harry noted that Aiden seemed to be practically radiating excitement at this point “You remember that pub we went to a few times? The one in Brixton?” Louis responded just as excitedly “Of course! How could I forget? I haven’t had to physically drag Liam out of many clubs so it’s obviously earned a soft spot in my heart” and Harry really didn’t like where this conversation was going. Mentioning soft spots? In Louis’ heart of all places?? And Harry was not mentioned as being in nor the cause of these soft spots? Yea, he’s pretty displeased about it all.

“Well a friend of mine is playing a gig there this weekend.” Oh great, he’s pulling out some sort of faux-shy routine that was making Harry gag. However Louis seemed prepared for this “I’d really love to me but me and Harold here already have plans to head up North this weekend. He’s a proper Northern lad he is, gets a little moody if he goes more than a few weeks without visiting” Louis said with what appeared to be genuine remorse Harry knew better since he knew that no such plans had been discussed and Harry was even more surprised to say that Louis was not wrong, he _did_ get a little moody when he didn’t get to go up north and visit him mum. They must be soulmate.

Aiden was obviously none the wiser to Louis completely fabricated story, his face quickly began to lose all of its prior excitement “Damn. It would have been great to catch up with you.” Aiden paused for a minute and glanced over at Harry before continuing, “I’m sure you’ve been keeping…busy but it would have been nice to catch up over a few beers.”

Louis was still committed to his lie so it only made sense that he strings it out a little bit more “I’m really sorry mate I really would have loved to come but Harry and I made plans to visit his mum ages ago.” Harry could see that those theater classes really paid off because even he was starting to believe this. Harry is continuously amazed by the magic that is Louis Tomlinson and maybe if he plays his cards right he can stick around and continue being amazed by him for the rest of his life but that’s a thought for another time.

The next time Harry looked up Aiden was backing away and telling Louis “my number hasn’t changed so, ya know, you can text me whenever you’re free. If you wanted to like, hang out sometime.” It was clear that Aiden was a little flustered from his dismissal, a fact that Harry’s face had turned smug rather quickly once he realized that Louis was turning down this offer. “For sure mate, you’ll be hearing from me soon!” Louis finished with a friendly hand wave as a send off.

 

            It took a few seconds for Aiden to exit through the door but once he did Louis released a long drawn out breath and sank back into his chair. “Sorry bout that, Aiden’s never been too good at reading signals. Lovely guy, knows his stuff about maths and architecture but the poor guy isn’t the best at reading people.” Louis seemed a little troubled by this but quickly shook himself “I mean it’s not like he’s a stalker or anything, he’s just…persistent. Determined, if you will.” his face still seemed like he was still in deep thought so Harry tries to distract him from his thoughts “You know, you’re quite talented at lying but I’ll call it _acting_ in this case. Have you ever done improv? You’d probably be great at it.” was Harry overstepping a little? Maybe. Was it worth it to see Louis blush? Damn right.

 

            “It’s funny you say that because I did actually used to be a part of the improv team back in school. Liam was just asking me the other day if I missed it. Maybe I do. Maybe my performance with Aiden was the push I needed to get back into it.” Louis definitely saw the small flinch run through Harry’s body when he brought up Aiden so he figured the least he could do was soothe the boy’s worry “Even if you weren’t here I still would have said no to Aiden. He’s a good mate when he’s not trying to get in me pants but you’ve got nothing to be jealous of love”

 

            Harry felt his face flush with the implication and he rushed to defend himself “Jealous? Oh no, of course I wasn’t jealous. You see I was just thinking about um, monks” Wow, speaking of improv, Harry should probably try out for a team too since he was doing a fucking _ace_ job of thinking quick on his feet. One carefully raised eyebrow was all Harry got in response, Louis was clearly giving him the floor to explain himself. “Um yea, monks are pretty cool right? I dunno, I’m just into the whole ‘give up your earthly possessions to find nirvana’ thing ya know? Very relatable.” God, he could have come up with a better story if he’d pulled random words out of a hat.

           

            After giving up on his improv dreams he decided to come clean “Ok so maybe I was just a liiiitle jealous of him. I mean, you guys were obviously friendly. And I’ll have you know that I am not opposed to the idea of being friendly with you.” There really wasn’t any point in trying to beat around the bush. He thought his intentions had been clear but he decided to get just get it all out in the open. _Feel the fear and do it anyway_ innit?

 

            Thankfully Louis seemed prepared by this, like perhaps he’d been waiting for Harry to do this all afternoon. His smile was as warm as a summer’s breeze when he spoke “I wouldn’t be opposed to it either. That’s why I’ve been here chatting you up instead of doing my work” And wow, Harry may have been imagining this moment all day (read: week) but he never imagined it going this smoothly.

 

            After about two seconds too long Harry realized he needed to respond “Yea? Because I’d really like to get to know you better. I know that sounds like a line but I’m serious.” He glanced down at the table once he noticed how warm his face was getting, a little embarrassed about how direct he was being. He took a breath and looked back up into Louis’ eyes “I’d like to take you out. Not that I didn’t love this afternoon with you but I’d like to take you somewhere with a little better atmosphere than a coffee shop swirling with sadness and distress.” Ok maybe he was laying it on thick but.

 

            “Well Harry I’m quite chuffed that I didn’t have to ask you out because I’ll be honest, I was bricking it just thinking about it” Maybe Harry was already in a little too deep because there’s no other reason to explain the noise that left his thought, some would consider it a laugh. Louis must of have because he smiled, encouraged by Harry’s approval, and continued on “But yea Harry I’d love to get to know you better. Now tell me about this date of ours. I’m quite put out by your depiction of this lovely establishment. I’ll have you know that the environment here is _lovely._ ”

 

            Now they were back into Harry’s territory, flirting. “Anywhere you go is lovely because _you_ are” he topped it off with one of his signature smirks that he knows makes his dimples pop. “I was only suggesting we spice up our lives a little bit. When was the last time you got proper dressed for a night out? Don’t think I haven’t seen you tucked away in here every weekend.” Ok maaaybe Harry could have left out the bit that exposed how long he had been watching the boy.

 

            “ Oh? Already spicing up our lives are we? Well I must say I’m interested in hearing more about this Harold.” He was learning that it took a lot to throw Louis out of his element, which apparently was fielding through compliments from boys. “Well Lewis, I was thinking of getting proper dressed up and taking you to a nice little restaurant this weekend. And maybe some activities after.” His earlier bravado was weaning down the longer he spoke but he’s hoping he sounded confident. However Louis eyebrows shot to his hair “ _Activities?_ Harry!” Louis looked positively scandalized but there was a hint of laughter on his lips

 

            “No! No not like _those_ types of activities! I meant like,” he paused to grab at his hair “going to a movie or a concert or something. Honest. I genuinely just wanna take you out and treat you to a nice date” he finished lamely.

 

            Comforted by the fact that Harry wasn’t that type of guy Louis relaxed “Right, right of course.” Louis seemed to notice the distress on Harry’s face and raised his hand to lightly grip Harry’s forearm that was sitting on the table “I know you’re not like that Harry, don’t worry. And I’d really like that Harry. I’ll have you know I’m actually really excited about getting to put on some fancy clothes and I don’t know if you’ve heard but my date is pretty cute” he finished with sly smirk and squeezed Harry where he was still holding him. “Actually Liam was just telling me about this band he wanted to see that was coming in town this weekend. Want me to ask him about it?”

 

            Once they’d decided on a time and hashed out a rough itinerary for the day they decided to wrap up their study date. Knowing that they had plans made it a little easier for Harry to part from Louis but not by much. For some reason he was afraid that once they left this comfortable environment they’d built over the last few hours that maybe things wouldn’t be the same. That maybe this had been a one off and a chance for Louis to innocently blow off some steam during midterm week.

 

            Miraculously Louis seemed to sense Harry’s hesitance to separate. After they’d each packed all their things back into their bags Louis shuffled around the table to slide his arms around Harry’s neck and grace Harry with the a hug that felt like being wrapped up in his favorite quilt from his nan while sitting in front of the fire. He returned the hug without hesitation and felt his hesitation ooze out of him; all he could feel was warmth. Before the hug could veer into too-long-for-public territory Louis stepped back but kept his hand on Harry’s arm “So I guess I’ll see you Saturday then? Text me when you’re on your way yea? Bye love.” And with one final squeeze to Harry’s arm he wandered out of the shop.

 

            Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Harry took a deep breath and readjusted his bag while trying to save every second of this day to his memory. He had a date.

 

\-------

Their first date was both amazing and the worst thing that ever happened to Harry. Obviously it was amazing because it was a date with Louis Tomlinson but it was also the worst thing to happen to him because thoughts of Louis had invaded his everyday life at a staggering rate. When he fixed his tea in the morning he found himself adding just a splash of milk like a certain Doncaster native he knew instead of his usual milk and sugar. He found his thoughts drifting to Louis on his walks to class when songs that he overheard Louis singing on his playlist. He was already in way too deep but he was entirely too smitten to care.

 

            Louis had invited over for a chill day at his flat. Well… He didn’t explicitly say it was a date but they’d been seeing each other pretty regularly for the past few weeks so Harry assumed it was implied. Since his day was probably going to be spent on a couch for several hours he decided to dress for comfort in black joggers and a gray jumper that hung loosely from his body. One of the perks of his new shorter hairstyle was it required a lot less maintenance, once he got out of the shower all he had to do was run a bit of product through his hair and leave it alone. A quick once over in his mirror and a pat down to ensure he had his keys, phone and wallet and he was on his way to his boy’s house.

           

            Twenty minutes later he was standing outside of flat that he’d hopefully become pretty acquainted with in the future. He knocked three times and waited for a response. He got one a few seconds later from the other side of the door “It’s unlocked! Let yourself in!” not needing to be told twice he quickly obeyed and locked the door once he was inside. He made a note to remind Louis to _not_ leave his door unlocked in the future. He walked to where he remembered the living room to be and was met with what he assumes is a familiar site but still sent a shock of jealousy down his spine. Louis and Liam were cuddled on the couch thoroughly engaged in whatever was on the TV, Louis’ head was resting in Liam’s lap while Liam ran his fingers through Louis hair.

           

            And like. Louis and Liam have been best friends since they were kids and have been flatmates for years so Harry has no doubts that they’re comfortable with each other but he can’t help but feel a little envious of Liam in this particular moment. _He_ wanted to be the one running his fingers through Louis hair, _he_ wanted to be the one that got to spend all his lazy days with Louis. It was in this moment that Harry once again realized just how deep he was and forced himself to rein it in. They weren’t official or anything yet but Harry sure hoped they were on their way.

 

            Even though Harry may have been a little consumed in his thought that didn’t stop him from absolutely melting once he and Louis locked eyes from across the room. “Harry. You’re here.” He hadn’t raised himself from Liam’s lap but he didn’t need to for Harry to see the way his face got impossibly softer when he looked at him. After looking between them for a few seconds Liam decided to take matters in his own hands and shimmy from under Louis’ head and walk over to greet Harry “Harry! Good to see you mate, you get here alright?” if Harry hadn’t felt like shit before for his jealous thoughts he surely did now when Liam was showing why he was one of Louis’ most trusted friends “Yea mate I’m alright, you?” They caught up for a few moments and Liam asked how he and Niall were liking their flat and told them that he would invite them out next time all the lads got together. “Hey Lou? I’m gonna go meet Zayn, call me if you need anything yea? See you around Harry” and with that Liam left the flat.

 

            This prompted Louis to sit up from his position from the couch and raise him arms as an invitation for Harry. Harry nearly tripped over himself trying to get to the couch in a few steps as possible, he all be collapsed into Louis’ waiting arms and exhaled all of his thoughts that didn’t pertain to the lovely boy in his arms. “Hey” he pressed his words into the side of Louis’ head as they embraced. “Hey love. Missed you. What have you been up to?”

 

            They caught each other up what they did this week, which then turned into discussing their plans for the weekend. They discovered that they had both planned on going to Steve’s party this weekend and quickly agreed to just go together. Harry eventually moved to lay across the couch with Louis between him and the couch, their ankles comfortably crossed. This was the most comfortable Harry had been all week until Louis broke the silence with “So I guess this will be our first outing as a couple then?” causing Harry to choke on his spit and sending him into a coughing fit strong enough that he had to sit up and catch his breath. “Jesus Harry I was just stating the obvious right? We are a couple aren’t we?” Louis asked. “Yes! I mean yes, yes we are. I just, you never said you wanted to be? I thought I made myself pretty clear but I was waiting on a signal from you that you were on the same page. I guess this is it” he finished with a chuckle. Louis had a knack for blindsiding him with statements that Harry wants to hear but when he least expects it. All things considered, it’s a pretty ok problem to have.

 

            Once his breathing returned to its normal not-panicked standards and his thoughts were no longer a mantra of ‘ _he wants me back’_ on repeat he was finally able to respond “Yes Louis, we are a couple and yes this will be our first outing a couple. And by the way, I was definitely planning on formally asking you to be my boyfriend in a much more romantic way but I’m happy. So so happy” he finished by squeezing Louis so tightly against his chest that he could feel Louis’ smile pressed into his collarbone.

 

            So here he was, a 20 year old man hugging his new boyfriend on his couch singing a Hilary Duff song in his head because “ _hey now hey now, this is what dreams are made of”_ has never been more relevant in his life. Hilary Duff is a true prophet and Harry will send her thank you prayer at a later date. Louis seemed to be similarly effected judging by the dopey smile that had been resting on his face and Harry wanted nothing more than to taste that smile and save the memory forever, their first moments as an official couple. So he did.

 

Louis’ lips were slightly chapped because it was a lazy weekend and chap stick is not a priority but they were still the most lovely, soft, warm, sunshine-tasting thing Harry has ever had the pleasure of kissing. Normally he would catch himself and remind him to not get too deep but now that he knew Louis was on the same page all of his hesitance to completely falling were long gone. He could finally allow himself to fully and completely immerse himself in discovering everything there is to know about this boy. Wants to know his best and worst memories, his favorite smells, the way he likes his eggs (since Louis has no problem letting everyone in the vicinity know how he _needs_ his tea to be) and Harry just wants to know everything and everyone that made this amazing and lovely boy that he gets to call his boyfriend.

 

The rest of the day passed in warm cups of tea and even warmer kisses and Harry is maybe probably most definitely imaging spending every weekend of this rest of his life in this exact position. He swears he’s actually a much more logical person in all other aspects of his life, he’s studying criminal justice for goodness sake so he’s more than familiar with logic and complex thought, but when Louis is involved it’s like he’s has never had a more important thought than ‘I wonder what our kids will look like’ when he stares into his favorite blue eyes.

 

Once the sun was officially resting below the horizon Louis decided to finally break the spell and bring up responsibilities and other things that pertained to the outside world that Harry couldn’t be bothered to think of for the past few hours “Well as much I’ve enjoyed the day with my new boyfriend,” he paused to smile at Harry and press a soft kiss to Harry’s chest “I’ve got to start getting my stuff together for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day for me so if I start getting my life together now it’ll make tomorrow that much easier.” His face has lost a bit of it’s brightness and whether it was due to him actually being sad at having to leave their little bubble or possibly just being tired Harry decided that he never wanted to see Louis’ face looking anything less than content. He started leaving light airy kisses around where he could on Louis’ body in hopes that he’d get to see his favorite smile one more time before he left. Thankfully it only took 3 quick kisses to Louis’ noise before he let out an actual honest to God giggle that sends Harry’s heart soaring. “That’s a good idea baby. Well, I had the best day with you, let me know when your schedule starts opening up and we’ll go do something nice yea? Wanna treat my boy” apparently Harry had a way with words because the last thing he remembers hearing was “Fuck it, tomorrow can wait” before being tugged back down on the couch and being ambushed by Louis’ kisses. He doesn’t end up leaving for another hour.

 

           

\-------

           

They decided to meet at Harry’s flat before going to he lives the closest to Seve’s house. Louis shows up an two hours before they’d planned to leave so he had enough time to get ready and pester Harry while he tried to get himself ready. Once Harry had successfully banished Louis from the bathroom so he could finish getting ready, Louis wastes no time starting up a conversation with Niall. He’s listening to their conversation (it’s his flat and his boyfriend so sue him if he eavesdrops a little bit) as he gets ready and he keeps overhearing something about a Zen or Zack or something. He makes a note to ask Louis later and ask why he hasn’t heard any of those stories yet. He’s not jealous per say, more so an interested party. He just wants to know more about this mysterious man that Louis seems to talk about with everyone but Harry.

 

The party is close enough that they can walk so they did, Harry leads the way and grabs Louis’ hand. They walk and talk with their hands swinging together and even sneak a quick, maybe a little _too_ quick for Harry’s liking, kiss before they go inside. When Steve opens the door he immediately raises his eyebrows when he notices them hand and hand and looking pretty cozy but hugs each of them and invites them inside. He points them towards the kitchen where all the drinks and snacks are. They each grab a cup and mix their drinks to their likings, a little too strong for Louis and only a splash or two of liquor for Harry so he can stay alert for Louis…and also because Louis tends to get a bit touchy when he drinks now that they’re officially dating Harry is Louis’ #1 target and Harry wants to be sober enough to remember it all.

 

They decide to split up for a little bit to socialize on their own for a little while. Harry finds some people he has class with and catches up with them. Liam ends up being at the party too so Louis is practically glued to his side. Harry isn’t bothered by it; he thinks its cute and he’s glad Louis has someone in life that trusts like Liam and they eventually find each other outside where Louis casually approaches him with a face that clearly screams I’M UP TO SOMETHING, BEWARE and magically produces a joint from his back pocket. Harry shouldn’t be shocked because he and Louis have smoked together on multiple occasions but it looks like he pulled it out of his back pocket and Harry has spent more than a fair amount of tonight with his hands in those exact pockets. And even though he was obviously feeling for something else he thought he would have felt something so strangely shaped but then again, his hands were on Louis’ _ass_ so he can’t be expected to pay attention to much else.

 

They smoke on the back patio and talk about everything and nothing. The temperature began to rapidly drop once they were out there so Harry tugs his jumper off his body and hands it Louis who is not so successfully trying to fight off the chill. Eventually Louis gives up the act all together and climbs onto Harry’s lap and Harry is all too pleased, his favorite boy is on his lap wearing _his_ jumper hanging off his body and Harry really couldn’t ask for more. They kiss slowly and languidly because every brush of their lips feels intensified from the weed and honestly, their motor skills are a little too affected from the weed to do much more than that. This is by far the best party Harry’s been to this year and maybe his entire college career which is why he is once again blindsided by Louis willingly bringing up this Zayn character that Harry’s been meaning to bring up. “This is actually really similar to how Zayn and I met, he was smoking in the backyard of this party and I asked if he was willing to share. We ended up spending the rest of the night smoking and looking at the stars.” He finishes dreamily and well, Harry doesn’t know how to react. It takes him no time to figure out that this _Zayn_ guy is who Louis was talking to Niall about early and Harry puts two and two together and realizes that he must be Louis’ ex.

 

Should he be happy Louis feels comfortable enough in their relationship to share his previous relationships? Or jealous because the fond tone in Louis’ voice shows that he obviously considers it a good memory and almost sounds wistful, almost like he would go back if he could. Maybe Harry is projecting his fears but maybe Louis isn’t as over the relationship as he thought. He decided to stay quiet and to see where Louis took the conversation. He didn’t have to wait long before Louis continued “And we kinda just continued. We’d go to parties, wander outside or to a bathroom to smoke and hang out for a while and then leave. But that was pretty much all we did. All we did was smoke and hang out, sometimes I would do a little writing and he would do a bit of painting but we mostly just lazed about on the couch.” As much as he hated to admit, he found a little bit of happiness in Louis’ increasing displeasure as he continued with his story. Harry could see that things weren’t so perfect after all and he can see a hint of a frown on Louis face so clearly all Louis’ memories of Zayn weren’t so good.

 

Even though Harry was secretly pleased that Louis didn’t seem to hung up on Zayn, he didn’t want to see Louis sad for any reason. Especially when there was nothing he could do about it. So he did what could do which was to soothe his boyfriend and he figured that maybe this was something Louis needed to talk about so he rubbed his hands up and down Louis back in what he hoped was a soothing manner and encouraged him to keep talking “And what happened when you told him what you felt?” Louis leaned into Harry’s touch and temporarily lost himself in heat of Harry’s arms. “Well it took quite a while for me to work up the nerve to tell him. I was afraid that he would just brush off our relationship because we never really defined what it was?” his voice had taken on a questioning tone and Harry got the feeling that he didn’t talk about this part of the relationship too often because he still seemed to be working through it as he spoke.

 

“I just,” he roughly exhaled through his nose before running his fingers through his hair “I was young and I didn’t one to be one of those ‘what are we’ type of blokes because I didn’t want to come off as insecure. I never asked and he never questioned it. Admittedly I should have brought it up as soon as I realized I was a bit confused about it but one day we went to a party and I left him to go run to the loo right? When I got back I found him standing pretty close to some guy I’d never seen and they were passing a joint back and forth. And like, it was so familiar because that’s pretty much exactly how we’d met and when I saw them I just felt so _replaceable._ When we got back to my flat that night I freaked out on him. Told him every fear that crossed my mind in the past few months and we just had it out.” As someone who spends a lot of his time observing this beautiful boy on his lap he found himself very unfamiliar and uncomfortable with look of sadness and remorse on his face, Harry could go the rest of his life without seeing this ace again and it would _still_ be too soon.

 

He wanted to comfort the boy in any way he could but he also knew that this was something that Louis was going to have to deal with on his own but that didn’t stop Harry from covering Louis’ neck and cheeks with small, meaningful kisses. “And then what happened baby?” they were usually pretty liberal with the pet names, especially Harry, so he felt the least he could do was give Louis a little verbal reminder that he wasn’t put off by the conversation. Of course Louis seemed to pick up on this because he was somehow always on the same page as Harry, even if Harry didn’t know it himself, because he linked his and Harry’s fingers together and raised them to his lips for a few quick kisses to Harry’s knuckles; his way of thanking Harry for both listening and offering his support. “It was definitely ugly. He accused me of being shit at communicating which was true at the time but I’m working on that now” he looked directly in Harry’s eyes as he spoke to ensure that Harry knew he was aware of the problem and had intentions to work on it so it didn’t become a problem in their relationship.

 

“He told me that he could tell something was bothering me and was waiting for me to tell him but I never did. Told me that he couldn’t read my mind so he couldn’t fix something if he didn’t know about it and I kinda snapped. I screamed at him about the fact that I didn’t know if I could talk to him about it because I didn’t know if I was a friend he smoked and also had sex with or if I was actually his boyfriend.” As if following the story, Louis seemed to lose steam. Like even saying it out loud made him remember how he mishandled the situation. “I could tell that he was genuinely hurt because he just kinda froze and looked at me for a while. We ended up sitting on my bed in silence for an hour while we both processed everything that was said. We decided that maybe there was a lot that he we hadn’t talked about and there was a lot of things that needed to change but we also realized that maybe it wasn’t worth it, maybe _we_ weren’t worth it. The next morning we decided that it would be better to just stay as friends. I mean we got along well enough without the sex so we thought maybe we could just keep doing what we were doing, going to parties and hanging out, without the sex.” Harry removed one of his hands from Louis’ grip to brush his fringe away from his face, if questioned he would most certainly blame the marijuana in his system for his ramped up need to touch the boy in his lap. To be honest the weed only managed to silence his inner voice that’s usually there to remind him that he doesn’t actually need to touch Louis whenever he’s in arms reach.

 

“So that was it then? You figured you’d be better off as friends and you both were just cool with it?” And ok maybe this joint was stronger than he thought because he could have sworn he’d said all of that in his head so imagine his surprise when Louis’ voice drifted in his ears “Yea. Pretty much. It took us a little bit to completely tone down the PDA, especially after a few drinks or smoking, but we managed. I think we’re actually closer as friends then we ever were as a couple. I don’t regret anything and now he’s still a good mate so I can’t be mad about it.” Once he finished his story he looked a bit more like his usual radiant self and Harry was glad. Glad that Louis had trusted him with this and even more glad that he truly seemed to have worked through whatever happened with Zayn.

 

“I’m so proud of you baby, you’re so strong” he moved his hands that were previously on Louis hips up to his neck so he could hold him in place while he attempted to kiss the life out of him. Louis immediately responded to Harry’s lips with a moan and his hands grip Harry’s wrist. They kissed for a little while longer before Harry notices that his bum has gotten uncomfortably cold and he’d much rather continue this somewhere warm like his or Louis’ bed perhaps but a couch would do it in a pinch. “Louis love, I’m 100% down to keep kissing you but I’d much rather do it somewhere that isn’t freezing and maybe on an actual cushion instead of this flimsy chair I’m on. What do you say? Wanna go back to mine baby?” Throughout his speech he started pressing feather light kisses to Louis’ neck that turned increasingly hotter with the promise of continuing. Dazed, Louis answered “Yea yea of course babe. Want you to take me home” once he’d finished his sentence he carefully tucked his face into Harry’s neck and snuck a quick bite to the skin there, just because he could.

 

It took a few seconds but eventually they both managed to stand, stretching slowly and carefully as if to wake their muscles up. They re-entered the house hand and hand to say goodbye to all their classmates that they’d spoken to earlier in the night. After finally saying goodbye to the host of the party they found themselves back on the cold street they entered on. Louis seemed content to walk in silence but Harry had to make sure he knew how honored he felt that he trusted Harry enough to tell him about his past relationships “Baby? I just wanted to say thank you for telling me about Zayn earlier. I’ve heard you mention him before but you didn’t seem keen to tell me about him. But yea just, thank you for trusting me with that yea?” Taken aback, Louis stopped walking and turned to stare at Harry.

 

Assuming that he’d crossed a line Harry quickly began to backtrack “I mean you don’t have to tell me everything obviously. I guess I just wanted thank you for trusting me with that? I mean. Not that you didn’t trust me before but I, um” Finally Louis seemed to come back to himself, he quickly quieted Harry with a calming kiss. “Harry, Harold, my dear sweet boyfriend of course I trust you. You’re my boyfriend and also one of my best friends. I wanted you to know because I wanted you to know that I’ve moved on from Zayn and I wanted to show you that I’m in this for the long haul yea? You’re stuck with me now” with a flirty smirk in place he sealed his words with soft kiss that he hoped would show Harry just how much he’d meant his words. And Harry, well he was still trying to find his words. He’d lost them somewhere between Louis’ sweet words and even sweeter kisses.

 

Realizing that he’d let the silence carry on for a few seconds too long he broke the silence “Me too. I’m in this for the long haul too. And stuck with you? Louis I don’t know if you’ve noticed by I’ve been _trying_ to be stuck to you for the past 3 months. I’m just happy you’re catching up.”

 

\-------

 

They’d been together for 10 months when they said those three words for the first time, funnily enough they were in the midst of their biggest argument to date. The summer holidays were approaching and Harry was planning to spend them home but he was also trying to come up with the best way to approach Louis about maybe staying with him for a week or so. Over the past 10 months Harry had essentially moved in with Louis; he slept there at least 6 nights a week and cooked dinner just as frequently. They went grocery shopping together and Harry had even started referring to Louis’ flat as home, well Harry had also come to associate that term with Louis in general but that was neither here nor there.

 

While Harry didn’t think Louis would outright reject the idea he didn’t think that Louis would accept his offer without hesitation either. He decided to bring it up one morning while they were eating their standard breakfast of a full English and tea “Hey baby? So like obviously you know I’m going home this summer to spend some time with family and I know you’re staying here because you have your own flat and stuff but I was just wondering if you’d like to come stay with me for a few weeks? Or a few days if that’s what you want. I just don’t wanna go so long without seeing you.” He thought that was a pretty decent way of saying _please don’t leave me I can’t go that long without seeing your face please come with me._

 

Harry learned that Louis’ most tried and tested defense mechanisms was to try to humor his way out of serious situations “You mean you’re not sick of me yet. I thought for sure you’d take the first chance to run for the hills.” Just like Harry learned that humor was Louis defense mechanism, Louis learned that Harry rarely takes the bait to let him get away with it. “Baby,” and with that one word Louis knew that he’d taken the wrong approach. It’s not that he didn’t want to go home and meet the lovely family that raised the lovely boy in front of him but…he was scared. Scared that even though Harry _said_ he was in it for the long haul that maybe he didn’t _mean_ for the long haul. Harry was still young after all. Young, beautiful and 100% the boy of Louis’ dreams. So beautiful that everyone who looked at him for more than a second found their breath being stolen out of their lungs by boy with the most vibrant, mint green eyes and lips that had no right being so tempting.

 

Louis learned from his mistakes with Zayn that Harry wouldn’t be able to fix the problem without Louis actually stating his problem. “Harry, love, I’m gonna be honest with you here babe. I’m scared. I’m terrified that yea, you might want me now but Harry you’re still young and there’s still so much out there to see, so many _people_ for you to meet. And I just don’t want to meet your family and get attached because let’s be real, there’s no way that I won’t adore your family. What with you how your mom looks at you during your facetime calls? Harry I’d be crazy to not love the woman who raised you to be the man you are today. But I don’t want to meet them only for you to be forgotten when you find someone better than me.” Louis paused for a moment and it was at this point that Harry acknowledged that he could feel his heart breaking for this amazing boy in front of him who thought that _he_ wasn’t good enough. He honestly didn’t know where to start with all the information he’d just gotten but it seemed that Louis wasn’t finished.

 

“And I know you’re gonna deny it but you will Harry. You’re so, so good Harry. I honestly feel guilty keeping you to myself the way I do, you deserve to be admired by everyone.” Louis knew that he the dam was broken so he figured he’d just get all of his fears out into the open so that when Harry decides that there is bigger and better out there for him he could at least say he left it all out in the open. “I’m afraid that your family is gonna see how obviously in love with you I am and they’ll pity me when they realize that you could do so much better than me.”

 

Silenced descended over the two of them for a few seconds before Harry realized something, Louis said love. Louis said he loved _Harry_. “Louis I don’t. I don’t know what to say to that. Firstly, how long have you felt like this baby? You should have told me.” He wasn’t angry, just a little hurt that Louis felt like he couldn’t voice something that had obviously bothering him for a long time. “I know that it’s gonna take more than words but Louis I love you. I love you so much, have for a while now. And yes, I am young but that doesn’t change the fact that I love you Louis. You said that I’ll find someone better but Louis you’re _everything_ to me baby. I can see myself growing with you; I want to grow for you. I want to be the best man I can so I can provide and support you in anything that you do.” He took Louis’ hands from where they were tightly locked in front of him and brought them to his lips “Please let me baby. Let me show you how much I love you and show you how much you deserve to be loved.” His eyes were a little misty right now but he was still a little hurt that his boyfriend, the actual light of his life, couldn’t see how much he meant to Harry. Couldn’t see that he would do absolutely anything to keep this boy and most importantly keep him _happy_.

 

Louis was in a similar state, eyes red and quietly sniffling. For a few moments the silence went on they continued just holding each other. “I’m scared Harry. I really am. But I want this to work, so bad. I want to be my best for you too, because you really deserve it. And I didn’t say all of that for you to think that you make me feel anything less than loved because you always have. You make me feel confident, and strong and I know that you’ll still be there for me when on the days when I don’t.” And that, that’s all Harry wants out of this relationship. He wants Louis to always feel like the amazing man that he is because if there’s anybody that deserves all the love and praise that Harry has to offer, it’s Louis.

 

            Taking a moment to gather his thoughts Harry exhaled a breath he seemed be holding since the conversation started. “I can’t say that I understand why you feel the way you do but that doesn’t make it any less valid. I wish I could show you exactly how I feel and show you how confident I am in us because I don’t think I’ve ever been so sure of anything in my life.” He carefully removed his hands from Louis’ so he could fully turn his body to face him as he said “I know we’ve only been together just under a year but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught myself daydreaming about marrying you and moving into our first house, and adopting kids with you. I want all of that with you and I don’t think that’s going to change Lou. You’re it for me.”

 

            It wasn’t until he’d finished his little monologue that he heard the soft sniffling coming from the other side of the couch. He quickly went about wiping away his tears and hauling him into his chest so he could cuddle him properly. “I’m not trying to scare you baby but I want, I _need_ you to understand what you mean to me. I’m honestly embarrassed I let you go this long without knowing how much I love you.” He continued to press light kisses to wherever he could reach on Louis, small reminders that he was he was here. While Louis hadn’t spoken in a while he’d been steadily rubbing Harry’s back from where his arms were wrapped around him.

 

            A few beats passed before Louis found his voice again “I want all of that too Harry. I’ve had boyfriends in the past but never anything like this. With them it was more like casual dating without any serious intentions but this, you mean everything to me. And I catch myself doing things that I think will show you how serious I am about us. I try to show that I can be serious and make serious, adult decisions, someone you can settle down with.” He stopped rubbing Harry briefly to rearrange himself so he was staring directly at his boyfriend “I want you to settle down with me. And yea, sometimes I feel like you’re too good for me but I’ll be damned if I didn’t try to prove myself wrong. I trust you, I trust that you love me and you’re as serious about this as I am.” He carefully lowered his head back to Harry’s chest, gently pressing a kiss to his collarbone.

 

            Harry was sure that Louis could hear the irregular beat in his heart but he couldn’t care less. He had the boy that he loved in his arms telling him how much he loved him and that he’s not alone in this. That Louis loved him back and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. Trying to break the heavy atmosphere that had settled around him Harry tried to crack a joke “Can’t believe the thought of meeting my mum spurred this conversation” it didn’t make Louis laugh but he cracked a smile so Harry counted it as a success

 

            Never one to be out-joked Louis was quick to play along “Yea mate, I’ve heard those Styles-Twist’s are a crazy bunch. Wanted to keep my distance” It was enough for both of them to start smiling softly at each other, trying to communicate that everything was ok with their eyes. But non-verbal communication wasn’t enough for Harry at the moment, if anything this conversation taught him that he needs to make the implicit explicit when their relationship is involved. He was going to spend the rest of his life making sure that Louis would never doubt his love for him. “Hey. So this was obviously a conversation we really needed to have yea? Going forward I don’t ever want you to let you deal with something this big on your own. That’s why I’m here, we’re supposed to be there for each other so I need you to trust me with this type of stuff ok?” Immediately Louis began nodding “Of course babe. And the same goes for you, you can talk to me about anything. I don’t care if you’re scared of how I might react to something because I know for certain that I’ll be more upset if you found out you were keeping something from me. Let’s vow to be as honest as we can we each other. Can we do that” their eyes locked briefly before Harry began nodding “Without a doubt. I told you, I’m 100% sold on us. You’re not getting rid of me now” he finished by completing engulfing his boyfriend in his arms, not that it took much, Louis is so _tiny_.

 

\-----

Months later they were sitting in their usual spots in their flat (yes _their_ flat, it didn’t take long for them decide they were ready for the next step) talking about their favorite topic; their future. Harry’s head was resting on Louis’ ~~sinful~~ thighs slowly being caressed to sleep by the hand lovingly working this his hair “Tell me again. Where do you see us in 5 years” Louis loved to indulge in this just as much as Harry so he didn’t hesitate “Well, we’ll be in our new house with a modern layout but has loads of your quirky things around the house. Our kitchen is gonna be massive so you have space to work your magic and still have room for me to sit and pester you while you cook. Our bedroom is gonna be our little love nest, there won’t be a tv in there because you know experts say having a tv in the bedroom is detrimental for married couples” once the word _married_ left his mouth both he and Harry seemed to really let it sink it.

 

Neither of them were shy about their desire to get married one day and this isn’t exactly the first time they’ve talked about it in reference to their future but for some reason this time felt different. Maybe it was because they’d been together going on two years at this point and living together had been everything they could have dreamed of, so maybe marriage was the next logical step and they were both realizing that. Snapping himself out of his thoughts Harry picked up where Louis left off “And we’ll have reading nook in our bedroom so you can read all you want before bed.” He geared himself up for what he was about to say because it was another big step that seemed like it wasn’t too far fetched “and the nursery will be next to our room. So we won’t have to walk to far to check on the babies” Harry chanced a glance up at Louis’ face and was pleasantly surprised to see Louis’ face settled in a serine smile “Yea? I don’t know about you but I know I’ll want their crib to be in our room for the first few months at least. Or at least until they develop a decent sleep schedule so we’re not running down the hallway at all hours of the morning.” And wow, leave it to Louis to leave him speechless after two sentences. His boy was perfect; he had no doubts about it.

 

It’s conversations like these that proved to Harry that he’d found the right boy. He doesn’t know many 21-year-old blokes at this point in their lives that are comfortable talking about marriage and kids but here Louis was, surpassing each and every one of Harry’s hopes and dreams without even trying. If it was possible he’s sure his heart would have grown 3 sizes but alas, he’ll just have to settle for it speeding up and beating at what would be an alarming rate but the more time he spends with Louis the more he experiences it. He couldn’t imagine his life getting any better than this but he was so, so ready to see where the future would lead he and Louis. With Louis by his side he couldn’t find it in himself to be anxious or scared about his future, but instead he was almost impatient to make this boy his with a ring on a finger on a child on his hip. He was ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super open to feedback.
> 
> A few people wrote some lovely comments on my first fic and it meant so much to me that I gave them a prequel with 10k more words lol


End file.
